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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 17h

Giraffes turned out to be my favorites.

Reposted by dmercer.bsky.social

stevethdemocrat @stevethdemocrat.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Today was THE most embarrassing day in the history of America! The piece of shit garbled threats and lies like no one has ever seen. He must be removed as he's an existential threat to mankind!

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Found this mantis in the garden just now.

Green praying mantis stretched out on top of a bright orange zinnia

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Not the usual backyard visitors: a Nashville warbler and some kind of thrush

A small gray and yellow bird, facing to the left, is sitting among the branches of a purple butterfly bush.

A brown and white thrasher eating berries from the yew bush it is perched on

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I'm going on vacation, so this one is for #TurretTuesday and #FormerTavernFriday. 4558 S. Marshfield, Chicago, 1905.

Two-story brick and frame apartment building that has seen better days. The brick on the first story is covered with beige siding that has been painted white in a couple of spots. The first floor windows have peeling paint and broken screens. There is a polygonal turret on the corner of the second floor on the left side that is covered in beige siding. Dark brown brick is visible to the right of the turret and there is a fancy little dormer poking out of the roof. The dormer has an arched copper pediment with a green patina and a large flower inside the arch. The pediment is topped with a 3-tiered finial also with a green patina.

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Door in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood

Wood? door between two brick buildings in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. At the bottom of the door is a purple, blue, and white upside down Portuguese man-o-war. Above that is another upside jellyfish, painted blue, purple, black, and white. At the top of the door there are green plants hanging from the top and a patch of what looks like sand painted mostly yellow. Maybe the door is upside down, or maybe it was deliberately painted this way.

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

White terra cotta Art Deco door surround, Oak Park, Illinois. Dubin & Eisenberg, architects

Beautiful white terra cotta door surround in the Art Deco style. Features include fluted pilasters Extending from the sidewalk to several feet above the door, ending in large scrolls. Right above the door is a terra cotta panel depicting two angry birds with wings spread and beaks open. There is more scrollwork above and below the birds. Above this panel is a Juliet balcony with a wrought iron balustrade. Flanking the balcony are panels of geometric shapes done in white terra cotta that resemble sailboats on a rough sea.

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Accidental manhole cover for #ManholeCoverMonday W. Addison, Chicago

Manhole cover in lower right of photo. It is covered with little squares and stamped "Chicago Sewer." The main focus of the photo is part of a large warehouse building made of concrete blocks. It is painted white, light gray, dark gray, with accents of light green. It has a stepped roofline, unusual for a warehouse. There is also one small tree in the center of the photo and bright blue sky at the top.

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Kedzie Ave. in Chicago's Ashburn neighborhood

One wall of a 3-story apartment building clad mostly in yellow brick. The right side is completely brick, no windows. In the center there are small double windows on each floor separated by spandrels of brown brick, some of which are protruding a bit. To the left of that is a narrow vertical stripe of yellow brick, then a wider stripe of brown brick decorated with a column of evenly spaced single turquoise bricks. Continuing left, there is another narrow stripe of yellow brick, then a narrow stripe of brown brick with evenly spaced stripes of turquoise brick from ground to roof. The final area on the far left is yellow brick.

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Kedzie Ave, Evergreen Park, Illinois. This is actually an apartment building as the second photo from Google shows.

Two-story apartment building built ca. 1963. It has a flat roof and it clad in dark gray brick and variegated light gray Roman brick laid in a stack bond pattern. On the left is a decorative wall of light gray brick and turquoise breeze block that hides the stairs to the second floor apartments.

Photo from Google that shows the apartments behind the facade in the first picture.

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Take two. It's Sunday. Here's a church. Ravenswood Fellowship United Methodist, 4507 N. Hermitage, Chicago. 1889, John S. Woollacott, architect.

Romanesque Revival church clad in rough stone. It has a cross gabled roof and a square tower with a pyramidal roof. The windows are either round-topped Romanesque arches or tall, narrow, and rectangular. the tops of the gables and the top of the tower are covered in cream-colored shingles with green trim.

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Reposted by dmercer.bsky.social

unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 20/09/2026

Today at the Broadview ICE facility outside Chicago: Dozens of ICE agents violently confronted protesters, deploying chemical irritants on the crowd. Multiple people were injured. No arrests were observed.

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

The zinnias continue to be dazzling.

Orange zinnia. A black and yellow wasp is sitting on one of the petals.

Fuchsia zinnia with a red center ringed by little yellow stars

Fire engine red zinnia with red center and yellow stars

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

210 N. Kenilworth, Oak Park, Illinois, ca. 1955.

Two-story mid-century modern courtyard building clad in various shades of tan brick, glass, and turquoise metal panels.

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Oak Park doesn't have a lot of terra cotta, but it has some, including this nice building on Madison St.

Three-story light brown brick building with lavish white terra cotta decoration. The first floor facade is almost completely large store windows, although right above them is a horizontal band of white terra cotta bellflowers. The second and third floor windows in the center of the facade have floral terra cotta bands running above them. The windows on the curved corner at right are bordered by large panels of white terra cotta tiles as are the windows on the far left. The roofline has terra cotta coping and evenly spaced Sullivanesque medallions.

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Reposted by dmercer.bsky.social

The Contrarian @contrariannews.org · 19/09/2026

The Kennedy Center crowd is singing America The Beautiful. This is what democracy looks like.

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

As much of a mess as this building is, I love it and hate to see it deteriorating. It was built in 1891 and has hosted lots of labor and political meetings. And there was a saloon there, so it fits in with #FormerTavernFriday. Note: At the top of the stone around the entrance it says "Lodge Hall."

Three story red brick former lodge hall, built in 1891. It has been significantly altered and generally mistreated over the years but some of the carved stone and pressed brick decoration remains, as does at large brick arch at top center.

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

#FormerTavernFriday 2840 N. Laramie, Chicago. 1929, Louis Griser, architect.

One-story commercial building with a flat roof and a cream terra cotta facade. The bottom two-thirds of the building are windows, some advertising various construction services, some covered with brown paper, and three boarded up. The top is terra cotta and includes a row of swags and magic lanterns; rope-like trim; rosettes; and small medallions.

Building permit from Feb. 14, 1929. Owner-M. J. Howard. Louis K. Griser, architects. Cost: $15,000

1940 ad in the Tribune: "Tavern--Tile bar; direct from keg draw; 4 liv. rms. in rear; comp. kitchen, oil ht. Sell acct. health."

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

4508 S. Ashland, Chicago. 1915, Hall and Westerlind, architects

Two-story tan brick building with commercial space on the first floor and residential above. The first floor is mostly store windows plus a black awning advertising the business--All the Trimmings, Inc. The second floor has two large arched window openings. The tympanum of both arches is filled in with a checkerboard of red and buff bricks. The arch is formed by red brick. The roofline is flat in the center and then rises up on both sides where it is capped with flat stone.

1915 Tribune article: "4508 S. Ashland-av., 2 story brick store and flats....Hall & Westerlind, arch.; A. Z. Eliscu, mason; M.H. Connell, carp. 10,000.

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

4520 W. Addison, Chicago. 1946, Sivert Klefstad, architect.

One-story Streamline Moderne factory building clad in variegated orange brick. The corner on the right side is curved as are the walls leading to the front entrance in the center. The entrance is framed by fluted stone pilasters rising just above the roof line. The curved entrance walls are filled in with clear glass block. The building has a flat roof with rounded stone coping. Centered above the entrance is a blue sign with white lettering reading "Slidematic."

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

While suffering from glass block fever, I learned about the Intaglio blocks from Pittsburgh Corning. I think I found some yesterday on this house in Oak Park.

Part of the facade of a split-level house clad in brick the color of different kinds of dust. There is a large shrub front and center and behind the shrub is a panel of elliptical shaped Intaglio glass blocks.

Black and white photo from a catalog showing the different patterns in Pittsburgh Corning's Intaglio line of glass blocks.

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Jazz up your bricks! Oak Park, North Riverside, Forest Park, all in Illinois

Three-story 1960s apartment building with a flat roof and overhanging eaves. The elevation in the photo is clad in tan brick with vertical bands of dark brown Roman brick below the windows. Each dark brown panel is spiced up with 2 or 3 square white and turquoise tiles embedded in the brick.

Wall of a two-story 1960s apartment building, clad in tan brick. Scattered randomly in the wall are pairs of colored bricks--turquoise, yellow, and white, positioned both horizontally and vertically.

Three-story 6-flat with balconies/patios on every floor on both corners. In the center, the wall is yellow brick with two small square windows on each level. In the very center of the wall is a panel of dark brown Roman brick dotted with turquoise, red, and white square tiles.

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Reposted by dmercer.bsky.social

Ray Pride @raypride.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Elder abuse.

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

3547 W. Montrose, Chicago. 1928, Koenigsberg & Weisfeld, architects

Former Fernstrom Fireproof Storage building, built in 1928. The 3-story facade is completely covered in mottled tan terra cotta (except for the windows). Terra cotta decoration includes fluted pilasters topped with scroll capitals; narrow bands of foliate design; a stripe of bead and reel decoration; and large terra cotta keystones above the second floor windows.

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

1947 W. Sunnyside, Chicago. One of Will Quam's (Brick of Chicago) favorite doorways.

Entryway to a variegated brown brick building. Concrete steps lead to the doorway formed from concentric arches of brick. Weird shaped pieces of smooth stone connect the doorway arch to windows that would be elliptical if they didn't have flat ends. The windows have slightly protruding brick borders.

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

446 N. Pine Ave., Chicago, is for sale. It actually seems to be two homes stuck together. The address for the one around the corner is 5507 W Race. Built 1909-1910 for Dr. J. B. Miller. www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/4...

Two-story red brick Prairie style residence with a hipped roof, wide overhanging eaves, a full-width front porch supported by brick columns with carved stone capitals. It also has a Palladian-style dormer at the top center.

Around the corner and attached to the residence in the previous photo is this similar but smaller home. It is also red brick, hipped roof, full-width porch, and broad eaves on the roof and over the porch. Once again, the porch is supported by brick piers topped with carved stone capitals.

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Reposted by dmercer.bsky.social

starch mogul @posts-cards.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

wrote about how the humboldt park lagoons have shifted over 150 years, jens jensen’s prairie river, and chicago’s quirkiest beach www.postcard-past.com/humboldt-par...

1941 color linen postcard above: a big blue lagoon with a handful of rowboats as a dad and two small children look on, the brick and half timbered refectory in the background. 2026 photo below: the lagoon is smaller and marshier with lily pads and reeds and the refectory looks the same.

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Reposted by dmercer.bsky.social

Lady Topham Catt @ladytophamcatt.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

If you were on the fence about this, we're down to the last 8 tickets! Grab one soon!

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

#TurretTuesday 4101 N. Western Ave., Chicago. 1901, Carl Louis Brueckner, architect

Three-story tan brick corner building in the Second Empire style (sort of). There is a rectangular pressed metal or wood turret on the corner, extending from the second floor upward. The turret has a pyramidal-shaped slate roof topped with a decorative cap. The letters NBT, MCN, and SCN are attached to a small panel at the base of the turret roof. The turret itself is decorated with cornices, brackets, and lots of gingerbread.

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

This is a doozy. Elmwood Park, Illinois

2.5-story mid-century modern 6-flat clad in cream-colored brick. The entrance is in the center, under a little mansard roof and surrounded by a floor-to-ceiling panel of black boulders. Above the entrance and set into the boulders is a rectangle of black Cameo glass blocks. On either side of the entrance are balconies for the first and second floor apartments. For some reason, there is another entrance at the far left. Above that is another panel of black Cameo glass blocks.

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dmercer.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The butterfly barely escaped being the mantis's dinner.

A monarch butterfly is sitting on top of an orange zinnia while a green praying mantis creeps up from behind.

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